That, however, would be one risky shakeup for a team already on track to win it all.

Phil Jackson acknowledged late Wednesday night that his trusted assistants are already lobbying him to make the change to start Odom over Bynum – and he’s going to contemplate it when the Lakers reconvene after the All-Star break.

“My coaches are kind of pushing me in that direction, but I’m not ready yet to do that,” Jackson said. “We won last year with Andrew when he came back at the end of the season, going out there and playing the first quarter and starting the games. Even though he wasn’t 100 percent when came back off his injury last year, he still gave us a lot; he gives us a big front. So I have to measure that and see what’s going to happen with this team in the next couple weeks.”

That revelation is yet another flare in the air for young Bynum to understand that his progress needs to be more consistent, particularly on defense. It is also a testament to Odom’s clear progress as one of Jackson’s most challenging long-term player-development projects, even if Odom never will become the Scottie Pippen of everyone’s dreams.

See, the way things shake out in Jackson’s brilliant-Zenmaster or mumbo-jumbo world is that when you stop sweating individual glory, it winds up finding you.

And a year and a half since Jackson pushed a reluctant, unhappy Odom into a reserve role, Odom no longer cares about that individual status. He even has a sound, stock summation regarding the demotion last season: “I won my first championship coming off the bench.”

So it’s only appropriate in Jackson’s world that the starting job might fall back into Odom’s lap now that he doesn’t necessarily want it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Odom said, walking away from the Lakers’ locker room after the victory in Utah and an individual performance that had Jackson uncharacteristically applauding Odom as he came out late in the game. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter, because I’m about moving forward, getting better individually and as a team. Whatever they decide to do.”

Asked about the Lakers perhaps being better with him starting, Odom said: “I can’t judge that.” Same as last season, Odom individually this season has been far better starting. Although they are skewed because Odom plays far more minutes in games he starts because either Bynum or Pau Gasol is hurt those games and not playing at all, the numbers do show a clear difference in Odom: 12.1 points and 4.8 assists starting to 8.5 and 2.5 relieving.

“It’s a certain type of opportunity that presents itself that’s different,” Odom said about starting.

The energy Odom brought from the start of the game Wednesday night in the tough Utah venue was cited by Jackson as what led the Kobe-less Lakers into a mentality of: “We’re going to score. Yeah, we’re going to be OK out here.”

Seeing Utah’s defense backing off him, Odom didn’t settle despite his sore right foot and drove time after time. His 11 free throws were his most in more than three years. His manifest activity: 25 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Nevertheless, there have been plenty of games this season where Bynum has gotten off offensively to fuel good Lakers starts. There is also a comfort zone and status for him in starting, which he has done every single regular-season game he has played this season and last season. (Jackson tried starting Odom five games early last postseason but went back to Bynum.)

Considering Bynum’s lack of footspeed, he can become a dump truck trying to chase the IndyCars when he has to play with the Lakers’ tempo-pushing second unit. He’s a score-first player, and if his points go down, it’s highly likely so does his commitment to defense. There is a very real risk that you lose the best of Bynum if you bench him and shake his confidence.

That’s what Jackson is balancing with the ongoing reality that the Lakers this season remain a better team with Odom than with Bynum, even though the franchise’s braintrust not so long ago projected Bynum to be a Lakers All-Star by now and Odom to have cashed his free-agent ticket elsewhere. To Jerry Buss’ credit, he anted up to keep Odom – and insurance companies now do sell combo policies that blend insurance and investment together, which is what Odom has proved still to be.

The luxury tax Buss is paying indeed gives Jackson this luxury of choosing between Bynum and Odom, both good enough to be invited to the 2010-12 USA Basketball program. Odom has never been good enough, though, in 10 ½ seasons to be an All-Star, which he alluded to himself before the game Wednesday when talking about the barbeque party he’ll throw in his backyard this weekend.

“I’ll do what I always do All-Star weekend: chill out,” he said.

Bynum is 22 to Odom’s 30 and will be an All-Star in the future. Part of Jackson’s job is to guide Bynum toward that future while winning it all this season.

This more mature Odom, who even for a change did responsible offseason training last summer, realizes that completely.

“I want to grow with Andrew,” Odom said, “and find out how we can keep our chemistry high – the three of us (Bynum, Gasol and Odom) always playing at a high level.”

That’s the voice of someone who stopped chasing individual glory … and has seen it come back to him in the form of a wedding watched by 3.2 million people, hokey but big-time TV commercials with ESPN, Taco Bell and Powerbar and a championship ring.

It’s in the Lakers’ best interests for Odom’s individual glory not to have to come back further in the form of Bynum’s starting job.

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